UMBRIDGE'S CAT TRAP
by Saeshmea
Summary: Umbridge wants to find a way to get rid of Minerva like she did w/ Dumbledore so she can have absolute control of the school. When she discovers Minerva is an animagus she has an idea. She curses Minerva so she is trapped in her cat form, not able to transfigure back to her human body. With Dumbledore away, Minerva will have to find help in another professor: Severus.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** I obviously don't own anything that you can recognize from this piece of writing, since it obviously belongs to the great JKRowling.

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**APOLOGY:** As always, I apologize in advance for all the grammar and spelling mistakes you might find (certainly find) in this and the upcoming chapters. I am not a native English speaker and I will appreciate any correction, any suggestion you may want to leave in your reviews; but I will not get a beta-reader because it just doesn't work for me.

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**A/N:** This is some crazy idea I had a couple days ago. First it was going to be some kind of "fairytale" but then, while rereading some chapters of tOotF, I got inspired in a different way.

It was meant to be a one shot, but it's 3am here and I thought it was long enough to be a nice introduction... I don't think it will take more than 3 chapters.

The main characters are McGonagall, Umbridge and Severus (who doesn't appear in this part, yet).

Well, I hope you enjoy it and please, review if you have time.

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**Let's do some memory:** This starts in chapter 29 "Career Advice", book 5, The Order of the Phoenix: Harry has his career advice meeting with McGonagall at her office, where there's also Dolores Umbridge. The two professors argue about him being able to get the marks necessary to become an auror and Minerva kind of "wins" the discussion...

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**EXTRACT FROM THE BOOK**

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_Professor Umbridge stood up. She was so short that this did not make a great deal of difference, but her fussy, simpering demeanor had given place to a hard fury that made her broad, flabby face look oddly sinister._

_"Potter has no chance whatsoever of becoming an Auror!"_

_Professor McGonagall got to her feet too, and in her case this was a much more impressive move. She towered over Professor Umbridge._

_"Potter," she said in ringing tones, "I will assist you to become an Auror if it is the last thing I do! If I have to coach you nightly I will make sure you achieve the required results!"_

_"The Minister of Magic will never employ Harry Potter!" said Umbridge, her voice rising furiously._

_"There may well be a new Minister of Magic by the time Potter is ready to join!" shouted Professor McGonagall._

_"Aha!" shrieked Professor Umbridge, pointing a stubby finger at McGonagall. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Of course! That's what you want, isn't it, Minerva McGonagall? You want Cornelius Fudge replaced by Albus Dumbledore! You think you'll be where I am, don't you, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister and headmistress to boot!"_

_"You are raving," said Professor McGonagall, superbly disdainful._

_"Potter, that concludes our career consultation."_

_Harry swung his bag over his shoulder and hurried out of the room, not daring to look at Umbridge. He could hear her and Professor McGonagall continuing to shout at each other all the way back along the corridor._

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**Now, the FanFiction begins... I am not JK Rowling, but I hope you enjoy the piece.**

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**.*.*.*. UMBRIDGE'S CAT TRAP .*.*.*.**

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She left the office infuriated and making her heels sound loudly at every step. How dare that damn woman talk to her like that in front of a student?!

Since she had arrived to Hogwarts she'd had to work hard in order to gain the professors' respect and the children's' fear; it had taken a lot of hours of detention and many new rules and bans. She knew that getting Dumbledore definitely out of the castle would be a difficult job - and yet, it had been quite easy -, and she thought that once she had accomplished that, she would have control of the entire school and all its inhabitants. She had been wrong.

She had underestimated one person, one insufferable disloyal witch that kept fighting her even now that she was the Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall.

She wished she could just dismiss her, just like she'd done with that incompetent Trelawney woman, but she had to admit that the Tranfiguration Professor, Head of Gryffindor and Deputy Headmistress had an excellent record, so there was no way she could justify firing her to the Ministre.

She had to find another way to rather make her change her loyalty or get rid of her. Etherway, she couldn't let things like they were; she feared that if Minerva wished to call an uprising in the school everybody would follow the Deputy's orders instead of the Headmistress herself.

As she turned the corner of the hall, she tripped with something and almost fall down. As she recovered her balance she noticed a cat standing at some distance, turning around to hiss at her before it ran away.

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...

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As soon as Umbridge, the new Headmistress, had left her office, professor McGonagall had tidied up her desk and left in her animagus form. A walk around the castle grounds without worrying about anyone annoying her about essays due-times, classes schedules and specially, the lady in pink, was exactly what she need to calm down her nerves.

As she elegantly walked down the halls, she spotted Umbridge at the end of the corridor and grinned - if it is possible for a grin to show up on a cat's face. She ran towards her and passed between her fat feet, only making her lose her balance for a moment. She had imagined her falling face-down to the stone floor like a flat pancake but she failed, and hissed at the old toad angrily before continuing her way down the hall.

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...

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"Filch!" Umbridge yelled at the old man when she saw him leaving some classroom.

"Yes, Headmistress?" he asked, turning around with Mrs. Norris on his arms.

"Your filthy cat just almost made me fall down," she said in the same tone she talked to the students during the detention time, "it wouldn't hurt for you to give her a bath and teach her some manners."

"I'm sorry, Headmistress, but Mrs. Norris has been with me all this time," he said.

"Are you sure?" she asked, "because I don't like lies, Mr. Filch, you know very well."

"I am not lying, Headmistress," he insisted.

"If it wasn't yours, then whose cat was it that I found on the corridor?"

"Well, I only know of one cat who would dare go around the school on its own with my Mrs. Norris around..." Argus Filch muttered, "McGonagall."

"I didn't know Professor McGonagall had a pet cat in the school..." Umbridge said with some kind of amusement, thinking that every pet had to be reported and, if that was actually the case, and her Deputy was breaking the rules then...

"Oh, no," Filch interrupted her wonderful thoughts, "it's not her pet, it's she herself. Professor McGonagall is an animagus."

"What?" she exclaimed in surprise, and after standing in front of the silent old man for a moment while the information sinked in her mind, she left in a hurry.

* * *

Minerva McGongall an animagus! A cat! How could such an infuriating witch be able to transform herself into the most beautiful creature of the world? And most important, why did she ignore that fact? Maybe Minerva was an illegal animagus, oh, that would be such good news!

She headed to her office, and as soon as she reached it, Umbridge began to search into her files. Minerva's folder appeared soon, and a copy of her official papers as an animagus was in it, so that had been another false hope.

The new Headmistress let her body rest on her armchair while she looked at her dearest cats moving in the decor plates hanging on her wall. They were all so cute and sweet, joyfully playing in the little spaces, calm and quiet, never disturbing her...

Dolores Umbridge stilled her back on her seat as she gasped.

Maybe... If only...

She took her nails to her mouth as she thought about it, about that great idea that had just hit her; the ultimate way to get rid of Minerva McGonagall in a way nobody would ever find out.

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...

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Minerva decided it was time to go back to the castle after the sun hided behind the mountains. She came in through one of the dungeons windows, and climbed the stairs up with that agility she only had while being in her cat form. The halls were practically empty, since it was almost dinner time.

When she reached her office, the door opened on its own to let her in. Which was her surprise when she realize she wasn't alone. Umbridge was sitting on her desk, aiming her wand down at her, and before she could react, before she had the time to transform into her human body and protect herself or fight back, the old toad muttered "obsidio incantatio" and nothing happened.

Minerva grinned - if grins do show on cat's faces -, thinking that Umbridge had failed on hexing her, and tried to transfigure herself back to her human form, but she couldn't. After a couple tries she looked up at the Headmistress, who was now standing in front of her, and her smirk gave her an idea of what was happening. She had somehow trapped her in her animagus spell.

When she saw Umbdrige walking towards her and bending down to pick her up she jumped over her and tried to escape, but the door wouldn't open this time. Minerva then jumped on the bookshelf and climbed it to the very top, but soon she felt herself being magically pulled down.

"Now, now, pussycat," the Headmistress said holding her on her arms and petting her furry back, "you must behave now, or I will feed you to the thestrals."

Minerva scowled at the woman who, knowing her new pet would escape as soon as they stepped on the hall, decided to use her privilege of being Headmistress and disapparated.

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**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	2. Chapter 2

**UMBRIDGE CAT TRAP**

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**part 2**

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As soon as they apparated in Umbridge pink office, Minerva jumped off her arms and fetched the door. It was locked, and so were the windows too, though even if they had been opened she wouldn't have been able to escape through them since that was a suicidal fall even for a trained cat.

"There's no way out, my dear," the old toad said with a smile on her lips and her hands joined in front of her while Minerva looked for any little hole on the wall she could fit in, "this is what happens when you don't respect the authority," she raised her head and Minerva glared at her like trying to kill the woman with her eyes.

Umbridge tried to keep her temper, but when Minerva hissed her like a wildcat about to attack, she couldn't help her legs, which stepped back trying to keep a safe distant from the animal. Before she could reach her wand in her pocket, Minerva had already jumped on her, sticking her nails on the Headmistress toad face, messing her hair and scratching her cheeks.

Dolores fought back as she could, trying to protect her eyes with her hands, finally she could grab the tabby cat by her rear legs and got free from Minerva's claws throwing her against the wall. The professor hit her her back against the stone, but felt to the ground on her four legs.

Umbridge approached her new pet angrily and rudely grabbed it by the skin behind it's neck.

"You are a very bad cat," she said in that tone of voice you would use to scold a little child.

For a moment Minerva thought that was it, that she would rather hex her dead or throw her through the window; but that wasn't Dolores' intention at all. The Headmistress opened the last drawer of her desk, emptied it with her wand and closed it with Minerva inside.

"Good night, professor," she said loud enough so McGonagall would hear.

Minerva had never been in such a small and dark place. Even with her cat eyes she wasn't able to see anything at all. After trying to open the drawer from the inside in vain, she began to meow as loud as she could with the only intention of enrage her captor so she would come back, but she never did and Minerva finally fell asleep.

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The sudden shake of the drawer being opened woke her up. The light of the room blinded Minerva as she felt a couple of hands around her furry waist raising her on the air and leaving her back on the floor.

"Good morning, Minerva," the irritating voice Dolores Umbridge said, although she wasn't able to see more than a blurry pink stain in front of her yet, "are you hungry?"

She was starving, in deed. She hadn't had the time to have anything for dinner the day before and by the intensity of the sunlight coming in through the windows she was sure it was past nine already.

"Here, pussycat," Minerva regained her sight only to see a pet feeder with milk on one bowl and cat food on the other. She raised her head to glower at Umbridge and walked away, "Fussy, are we?" she muttered, bending down and suddenly passing a collar through Minerva's neck before she could react, "you will eat, eventually," she kept talking as Minerva clumsily tried to get rid of the strange fabric, which made a tinkling noise that startled her.

Oh, the humiliation! That ugly old toad had dared to put a bell collar on her and was trying to feed her like a pet! She hissed.

"Don't you like it?" Umbridge smiled and the cat kept glaring at her, "I needed to put it on you since I have a lot of work to do around the school and can't stay here. This way, I'll be sure that you don't mess around..." and as Minerva tried to understand what she meant by that, Dolores clicked a thing chain to the collar, "keep an eye on my kittens," and after that she left.

Minerva was beginning to take consciousness of how helpless she was. As long as she remained a cat she had no wand, neither could she use wandless magic without being able to speak a word and wordless spells weren't powerful enough to break the magic chain that kept her tied to Umbridge's desk. She would have to wait for Umbridge to lower her guard to escape.

Her stomach growled reminding her she hadn't eaten anything since the day before's lunch and she glanced at the pet feeder. When she went for her walks around the forest being in her animagus form she did stop sometimes to drink some water from the lake, but she had never eaten while being a cat, specially cat food. She approached the food bowl. It had a strong smell of fish but it looked like chocolate cookies. She walked around it, hesitating, feeling ashamed that someone would see her feeding herself pet food. She couldn't... it was disgusting, but... she was starving. Her stomach growled again. She closed her eyes, stepped forwards, opened her little mouth and used her tongue to fetch one of the square shaped cookies. She chewed and swallowed quickly, but it wasn't that bad. Dry and crunchy, but it actually tasted good. As she fed herself one more fish cookie, this time letting it stay a little longer in her mouth, she wondered if maybe her taste, like her sight, changed when becoming a cat. Having a long sip of milk from time to time, she finished the entire bowl of food which made her feel awkwardly tired, so she decided to have a nap. Firstly she tried to find a comfortable position on the ground, but after stretching herself several times she ended up sleeping on the soft pillow of Umbridge's chair.

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...

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"Maybe something happened to Dumbledore," Severus Snape heard Mr. Weasly whisper to his friends as he was grading some exams while his fifth-year students were supposed to be brewing some draught of peace.

"Harry said he didn't want to tell her where he was going," Miss. Granger replied while adding some ingredients to the cauldron.

"Exactly," Potter agreed, "and it can't be a coincidence that McGonagall misses a lesson for the very first time right the day after confronting Umbridge like she did."

"You're not saying that Umbridge might have..." Miss. Granger wondered with her eyes wildly opened.

"Well, not that, but..."

"Maybe," Snape's voice interrupted Potter, "if I take five points to Gryffindor you will stop talking," he said.

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TO BE CONTINUED...

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**A/N: Thank you very much for the reviews, favorites and follows ^_^ I'm glad you are all enjoying the story, I hope you liked this chapter (I'm sorry it's short again) and I hope you'll like the next one. I am having so much fun writing this that maybe it will be a little longer than I had originally planned. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** A little later than I thought I would be posting it, but here's the 3rd chapter. I'm sorry that it is short again, but I am being very careful at every word (metaphorically speaking, because I am sure you will find a lot of grammar/spelling mistakes).

This is not a fun chapter, but it's good and hopefully Minerva and Severus will finally have a scene together on the next part.

Oh, I almost forgot! Thanks for ALL your reviews. You all know that I appreciate them a lot, because they mean everything... without your comments telling me what you think of my plots there would be no sense on uploading my stories, so** THANK YOU**. But, I have a terrible memory, so I wasn't sure which of the latest comments I had personally replied and which I hadn't... so I'm sorry if anyone didn't receive a PM message this time. It won't happen again. I know it's not important or necessary, but I do like to thank the people who take the time to express himself, or answer their questions...

I'm just babbling. Here's the chapter. **ENJOY!**

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**UMBRIDGE CAT TRAP**

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**chapter 3**

**...**

Severus went on with his morning classes like if he had listened nothing. It wouldn't be the first time that he heard about Potter leading to conclusions too soon, so he wasn't about to believe that Umbridge had attacked Minerva for a silly argument. It was true that those two women had been in a verbal catfight since the school year began, so of course he had sensed the desire of the new Headmistress to get rid of her Deputy, and he had seen Minerva actually reaching for her wand more than once at the point of losing her temper but, they both were professional women - stubborn and irritating, but professional indeed - so he couldn't picture any of them doing whatever Potter and his friends imagined.

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When Minerva woke up from her nap she was still alone in the pink office. She tried to jump on the desk, but her chain wouldn't let her reach it, so she stood on her back legs, holding on the edge of the table with her front paws to have a brief look at the small clock on the table. It was midday.

She had never stayed in her animagus form for that long. She was sure that by now someone had noticed her absence, what she wondered was what kind of explanation Dolores had came up with.

She jumped back on the ground and the tinkling of the bell on her neck startled her again. She hissed at nobody in desperation. Suddenly she realized the importance of being able to say a curse word out loud sometimes. As soon as she could get free from that damn spell, the insufferable toad would regret humiliating her like that!

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It was at lunch time when Severus recalled the conversation he had overheard on his second class of the morning. And it wasn't Minerva's empty chair on the teacher's table that brought it back to his mind; neither was it the whispering going on between Sprout and Hooch while they glanced and pointed at the void between him and the Headmistress. No, it was, if fact, Umbridge herself.

She was the last to come into the Great Hall, and as she walked around the table to take her seat he catched her peeking Minerva's chair and smirk after. That would have certainly been enough evidence for Potter to condemn her, but not for Severus, not yet, at least.

Since Dolores Umbridge had arrived to the school she had been taking notes of every error committed by the professors, so it wasn't odd seeing her happy for their little faults, like missing a meal time in the Great Hall. Severus quickly recalled a day when Filius had his lunch in the charms classroom because he had too many essays to grade and Umbridge felt so outraged that dedicated half the time to make a speech about the importance of attending the meals. This time, however, she didn't seem to care at all, which could rather mean that she was happy for not having to share the table with the Deputy, or - which seemed more probable - she was aware of Minerva's whereabouts.

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When she heard some steps approaching the office's door, Minerva waited with her eyes fixed on the doorknob turning movement, her front paws bent, her little head almost touching the ground, her legs ready to jump and her furry tail stiff. She was ready to attack.

As soon as the door opened and Umbridge stepped in with her pink heels, Minerva jumped, showing her longer and sharp claws, but the chain didn't let her reach her pray and she just felt back on the stone floor.

"Now, you know that's not what good pets do, Minerva," she said as she closed the door behind her. Minerva hissed her. She couldn't stand her voice, the tone she used with her; she just couldn't stand that woman at all.

Umbridge bended down and picked her from the ground by grabbing the skin behind her neck with one hand.

"I'm afraid that behaviour deserves a punishment," she said keeping that irritating too-nice tone of voice of her. "The sooner you learn how to be a good pet, the easier this new life will be for you, my dear." At this point, if cats could knit their eyebrows, that would be the face you'd see on Minerva. Was she being serious? Was she really intending on keeping her as a pet? Did she really believed Minerva would just resign and forget she once was a witch?

While the cat on the Headmistress arms figured if she should laugh or fear the answer to those questions, Umbridge clicked off the chain from the collar and left her on the desk. During the short moment while woman and cat were standing in front of each other, Minerva glanced at the door wondering if it was locked, if she could maybe open it with a clever move and escape. When she came back to reality, she realized there was a wand aiming at her.

Minerva jumped over her captor, landing on her four legs and ran as fast as she could towards the opened door that took to Umbridge's private quarters. Before she could hide under the bed she felt a sudden strong pain over her entire body. She twitched and tried to scream, although the sound coming out from her little feline mouth had nothing to do with the groans of pain coming from her soul. She would have done anything to make it stop. It felt like if all her bones were being crashed at the same time, like if all her muscles were being beaten up, like if her skin was being ripped off her body; all at the same time and yet, when it stopped, she only felt a big relief and tiredness.

"Thought I hate using it, I have always found the cruciatus a very useful *charm* when domesticating my cats," Umbridge explained while sitting on the edge of her bed, just a few inches from where Minerva was lying on the floor, curled up and still shaking, "but since you are not like any cat, I am sure we won't have to do this again." She concluded with a grin on her thin lips.

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TO BE CONTINUED...


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This part was hard to begin but once I found the right lines it almost wrote itself! I am pretty happy with what it ended up being, though it has nothing to do with my original idea of what was going to happen.

As always, thanks for your reviews ^_^ I am sure they are the reason that I am advancing with the story so fast. It had been some time since one of my ffics had had such a nice and warm response. Thank you. I hope you enjoy reading this part as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

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**UMBRIDGE CAT TRAP**

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**chapter 4**

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Severus had just finished his second class of the afternoon when some whispers made him raise his head from the papers he was grading.

"No, you talk to him," Pomona Sprout was saying to Madame Hooch as they walked into the potions classroom.

"Why me? You do it!" the other women responded. They looked like two first-year students afraid to talk in his presence and it amused him that he was still able to inspire that fear even among adults.

"May I help you, professors?" Severus asked to his visitors, although he had a hunch of what they could be doing in the dungeons, since for the entire day there had only been one matter of discussion among the inhabitants of the castle.

"We..." they both muttered nervously and looked at each other.

"We wondered if," Sprout took the lead, "you could tell us..."

"Minerva is missing," Hooch decided to interrupt and go directly to the point, "she's gone. Nobody has seen her since yesterday and she's not in her quarters," she explained.

"And you have come to me because..." he'd been right about the reason of their visit, but now he needed to know what they exactly wanted from him.

"Is she in some kind of... *mission*?" Sprout asked whispering the last word like if she was afraid they were being listened, "you know, for Dumbledore, for the Order..." her eyes stayed wide opened and staring at him, begging for his answer to be what her ears wanted to hear.

"If she was," Severus used his plain and monotonous tone of voice, but it didn't sound cold at all, "I don't think I would have any knowledge of it."

"I told you coming here would be useless, Pom," Rolanda Hooch barked while giving her back to Snape and making her way out of the classroom.

"Excuse her, Severus, she's just worried," Sprout apologized before following her friend's steps.

The potion's master watched the two professors cross the narrow corridor between the student's tables and benches while battling with himself. Those two women had come to him hoping he'd put some light into their worry and instead of that, he was just kicking them away. It wasn't that he was a bad person, he just didn't want to get involved. He had to stay in Hogwarts for Potter because that is what Dumbledore had asked him to do. If Minerva was in trouble it wasn't his problem, neither his responsibility, to find her. He couldn't risk everything only because the Deputy had had another catfight with the Headmistress, could him? Anyway, it wasn't like if spending some time without Minerva around was such a bad picture; not having her would mean no heat arguments, no witty jokes and sarcasm... but also no interesting discussions about teaching or deep conversations about magic. Maybe he would partly miss Minerva; after all, she was the only of his colleagues that seem to understand him, the only professor that respected his desire of being left alone many times; which could result ironic because she was, indeed, someone he didn't mind to have around; and now, she wasn't, and maybe she wouldn't anymore because he was too proud to help.

Severus left go a sight. If he himself was so fond of McGonagall to get slightly concerned about her whereabouts, her real friends had to be dying of worry.

"Umbridge," he said loudly enough so Hooch and Sprout would hear him before crossing the door, and he waited for them to stop and turn around before continue, "Minerva and Dolores had a disagreement yesterday, during one of the career advice meetings that apparently ended up with the Headmistress furiously leaving McGonagall's office," he explained.

"What are you implying?" Pomona asked not willing to jump into conclusions.

"Well... as far as I know, that's the last time she was seen in the school."

"So Umbridge fired her," Hooch said, "is that what you are saying? Because we've been into Min's quarters and all her things are still there."

"And she would have said goodby, right?" Sprout sounded like a little girl about to break down into tears.

"I don't think Minerva was fired," Severus replied, "I don't even think she has left the castle yet," he said, "and if you want to find her, I would start by the Headmistress quarters."

"You seem to have put a lot of thought into this," Hooch pointed out, "would you come with us?"

"No," Severus was clear and concise, "I won't risk getting caught and dismissed only to take Minerva out of her own mess," he said, "but I do intend to meet the Headmistress after dinner time to discuss the potions part of this year's OWLs and NEWTs. I guess that should take me about... half an hour - So I won't have time to help you." His expression was stern and his look empty, but the two women understood every word he said and those he didn't.

"Thank you, Severus," Pomona said with a large smile on her face, "I'll let you know as soon as we find her!"

* * *

It had been a few hours since Umbridge had left her private quarters again, and Minerva was still lying on the same spot the Headmistress had left her. A few inches from the bed leg, curled up on the cold stone floor.

She hadn't even bothered to chain her again; which upsetted Minerva the most, because she didn't know if she'd been left free because Dolores knew she was in too much pain to move, or because she didn't expect her to attempt to escape after having been punished.

Suddenly she heard noises coming from the office. Someone was opening the door, Umbridge was back.

Minerva knew this was her opportunity, her chance to escape... if only she could stand up and hide, make her think she was gone.

After a little struggle, she got control of her front paws, and carefully helped herself to stand on her four. Every move felt like little needles piercing her sore muscles and the pain of the cruciatus curse invaded her mind blocking her thoughts.

She felt a soft cold waft of air brushing her furry skin; the door was finally opened. She tried to stay focused on her mission, and slowly went under the bed, knowing it wasn't the best place to hide, but not feeling strong enough to run or jump.

"There's nobody here," she heard a familiar voice whisper.

"What were you expecting? To find Minerva sitting on the desk, waiting for us?" that was Rolanda's voice!

* * *

"Well, no, but..." Pomona replied feeling silly as she walked around the office, suddenly tripping over something and falling on her knees.

"What are you doing?!" Hooch yelled at her while examining the inside of a wardrobe.

"I tripped... What's this?" Sprout was holding on her hands the pet chain Umbridge had used on Minerva, "look, the toad has a pet somewhere."

"I bet its a bitch like her," Rolanda mocked closing the wardrobe and walking towards Pomona, "although a filthy rat would suit her more," she smirked at her own joke and looked at her friend, "there's nothing here, Pom, I'm afraid Severus was wrong."

"No, she has to be," the herbology teacher insisted throwing the chain to the ground and walking towards the bedroom's door, "we haven't looked over here yet."

"Pom, you have to admit that this whole thing about Umbridge kidnapping Minerva sounds too weird, even for that damn woman," Hooch sat on the bed and kept talking while Sprout looked into the closet and the bathroom, "I bet Snape was only trying to get rid of us, maybe he sent us here so Umbridge finds us and fires the two of us like she's done with Minerva... We should get going before that happens, you know. As bad as this job is right now, is the only one we have and-"

"Sht!" Pomona made her shut up as she came back from Umbridge's private bathroom, "did you hear that?" she whispered.

"Here what?!" her friend exclaimed.

"Sht, I said!" this time Sprout gagged the flying teacher with her own hand so they could listened to what seemed a cat meowing.

"It's just a damn cat!" Hooch shouted after getting rid of her friend's hand, "I bet it's the toad's cat, it will tell her that we were here and we'll be out before breakfast," but Pomona wasn't paying any attention to her, she had gone into her knees and was now looking under the bed.

"Oh, my god! Minerva!" she exclaimed.

"What? She was keeping her under the bed?!" Hooch couldn't believe it and bended down to check with her own eyes, but all she could see was a tabby cat in the dark that Pomona grabbed carefully with both her hands, "That's a cat." Rolanda pointed out as a matter-of-factly, in case her friend hadn't noticed that.

"It's not any cat," Pomona replied, "it's Minerva's animagus, can't you see?" she raised it so Hooch could have a better look at its face and then she saw those square marks around her eyes, and noticed that humanly look on them.

"Oh my god, Minerva!" she realized, "Do you have any idea of how worried we were while you were playing around fetching mouses around the school? Come on, transfigure back and let's get out of here before we get caught."

"Ro, I don't think she can..." Pomona muttered.

"What do you mean she can't?"

"I mean that the pet chain I tripped over before - I think it was meant for Minerva..." she looked at her friend with concerned eyes and showed Rolanda the pet collar around the cat's neck.

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**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** I'm finally back from desperation and university exams, so… it's time for FF updates!

I wrote this part like one month ago, but it didn't convince me, so now I've made a few changes and I hope you like it.

For those who read any of my other Minerva/Severus stories, there will be an update for "Who is Isobel O'Flaherty" today, and I am working on the "Hogwarts 1997" story so you can read something new in the next days. About my older not-finished stories, don't worry, I have all of them in mind.

I am also trying to keep my FF author page updated on how my stories are going (imitating other authors who do the same, which I find really helpful for the readers), so you can have a look if you want to.

Enjoy ^.^

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**Umbridge's Cat Trap**

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**chapter 5**

**.**

"So what you are saying to me, professor Snape," the school Headmistress was saying while they crossed the corner of the corridor, "is that you think we should give more time for the students to elaborate their potions during the exam?"

"Only if I am allowed to ask for more difficult beverages to them, if not, I think the time they already are given is more than enough, Headmistress," the potions master of Hogwarts replied.

"Alright, I'll give it a thought and discuss it with Cornelius," she replied as they reached the door of her office, "goodnight, professor."

"Goodnight," he replied, but he didn't move. He watched Umbridge entering her private quarters, and he even stayed in that same spot - in the middle of the corridor - time enough to hear a rageful scream in her unmistakable voice, which could only indicate that if Minerva had ever been prisoner behind that door - like he had deduced -, she was no more.

As he finally walked away, a hint of a smile - more like a smirk - appeared on the professor's face.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few floors downstairs, Madame Pomfrey, was being dragged up the stairs by Rolanda, who was grabbing her delicate wrist with that oddly manly strength of hers.

"Ro, please," the school nurse begged, "slow down!" but the flying teacher just ignored her pleading until they arrived to her quarters door, where they stopped their race suddenly. "Rolanda, what's going on?"

A moment ago, Hooch had rushed into the hospital wing and had asked her to follow her without giving any explanation. Because of their long friendship, she had willingly done as told, but she was also very curious about the reason of Rolanda's secrecy.

"You know how this morning the kids were talking about Minerva not attending her classes," the flying teacher explained once they were inside.

"Is she ill?" the nurse asked looking around, expecting to see their friend sitting on one of the armchairs with a fever or something like that.

"Not exactly," the flying teacher muttered drawing Poppy into the bedroom, where Pomona was sitting on the bed sheets, with a tabby cat curled up next to her.

* * *

Dolores Umbridge looked everywhere in her private rooms before admitting to herself that her new pet was gone.

She had to find her. She had to bring her back before anyone found her, she thought. If anyone learned about what she'd done to the most remarkable professor of the school, she'd be doomed.

Leaving her quarters in a rush, she went to the only person in Hogwarts that was loyal to her: Filch.

* * *

"We must take her to the hospital wing," Madame Pomfrey finally said after examining her cat friend for a moment.

"You know how to transform her back?" Pomona sprout wondered.

"No, Pom, I'm afraid I won't be able to help with that," the nurse told, "but I can help her regain her strength with a revitalizing potion."

"Revitalizing potion?! Isn't that used after a strong stunning spell?" Rolanda Hooch asked.

"And the cruciatus," their friend added, and the three women turned to look at Minerva, who was curled on the sheets. There was no need for explanations, after all, it wasn't that hard to believe that Umbridge could be able to cast such spell on anyone.

Pomona grabbed a blanket and covered Minerva with it before taking her in her arms, like a sleeping baby. Then, they exited the room.

Hooch walked ahead of them, with her wand in hand, making sure the halls were empty. Pomona was following her and Poppy was right behind the herbology teacher. They tried not to make noise, especially when walking across a sleeping portrait. If they were seen by the wrong eyes and the Headmistress learnt they were up so late, she would know it was them who helped Minerva escape.

They were walking down the corridor of the first floor, when they suddenly heard some steps ahead of them, and they froze.

"It's Umbridge," Rolanda whispered walking back on her steps so the Headmistress wouldn't see her.

"What do we d-" Poppy whispered, but before she could finish her question, she felt a cold hand suddenly gagging her and the presence of a body standing behind her.

Both Pomona and Rolanda turned around to check on their friend, and they were met by non other than Severus Snape, who had just let go of the school nurse and was now making them a sign to stay quiet as he walked toward the closest door to them.

"In," was all he said, keeping the door of the girls bathroom opened for the three ladies and going in after them.

Making no noise, he closed it and made a silence spell before turning around to the professors.

"Uff, that was close," Hooch let go a sigh, resting her body against the lavatories.

"Yes, thank you, Severus," Pomona added offering a greeting smile to Severus, who didn't reply it at all. He kept his stern expression on his face, like if he was in the presence of a group of students instead of equals.

"Did you find Minerva," he questioned.

"We did," Pomona replied, "we were taking her to the hospital wing right now," and noticing the confused look on the potions master she removed the blanket so he could have a good look of Minerva.

"I must admit that using your cat form is a clever way to hide from the Headmistress, Minerva," he pointed out with a hint of sarcasm, hiding the happiness of knowing she was alright, and the cat turned her face around, which made Severus knit his eyebrows.

"She's not hiding, Umbridge did this to her," Rolanda explained, "she can't transfigure herself back."

"You mean she's stuck as a cat?" the potions master tried to hide his amusement, "that's interesting."

His last comment hung in the air for a while as he approached Pomona and had a closer look of Minerva. She looked oddly tired, weak... he hadn't had many opportunities to see Minerva in her animagus form but, in all those few occasions she would actually appear younger, stronger, full of energy. Maybe it was a side-effect of whatever curse or potion Umbridge had used on her, or maybe she'd done something else to Minerva.

"Do you have any idea of how to undo Umbridge doing?" Pomona wondered.

"I thought you were going to the Hospital wing for that," he pointed out.

"No, I was going to treat her injuries and give her a revitalizing potion," Poppy said, knowing that the potions master knew very well the use of that beverage.

"Without knowing what Umbridge exactly did it will be difficult to help, but I guess I could try a few things," he rambled, like if he was thinking out loud, "if Minerva knows what happened, then we only need to find a way to communicate with her."

"That's a very good idea," Pomona said, "you know, I think you should take Minerva with you," the professor added, "you certainly know more about handling this kind of magic than we do." And before Severus could react, the folded blanket had trespassed from her arms to his.

"What? No, wait..." he muttered, looking down at the furry animal on his hands.

"Come on, girls," Hooch said, "we should go before Umbridge comes back. She must be looking for Minerva everywhere in the castle."

The other two professors followed her friend to the corridor, only Poppy stopped and turned to Severus one last time.

"If you need help, you know where to find me," she said, "take good care of her."

They closed the door behind them, and Severus found himself alone with Minerva, who was glowering at him from his embrace.

"Don't look at me like that," he said, "I don't like this either."

* * *

"How can I help you, Headmistress?" Argus Filch asked to Umbridge after letting her in his quarters, already wearing his pajamas.

"I lost something," she began, "and I need your cat to find it."

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TO BE CONTINUED...


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Not the best chapter of the story, but a necessary one to go on... I am guessing that there will probably be a couple more updates before the end (I'll try to make them long ones).

I hope I didn't make this too confusing u.u' specially the end, but if I did, as always, you can just leave a comment and I will answer all your doubts and questions.

Enjoy ^.^

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**Umbridge's Cat Trap**

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**chapter 6**

**.**

After making sure the door was locked, he left his new animal companion on his desk and walked away. Minerva was feeling too tired to scan that room where she'd never been before, too weak to analyze the fact that her friends had abandoned her with no other than Severus Snape; she just watched him walking to a large glass cabinet opposite to the fireplace and coming back with a vial on his hands.

"Don't look at me like that," he said and Minerva realized she'd been staring at him, "I didn't offer myself, so I like this situation as much as you do," he sat on the desk chair, uncupped the small crystal bottle and approached it to Minerva's cat-lips. "It's just a restorative potion," he explained, knowing that she wouldn't let him just give her some strange liquid, "it will make you feel better."

Minerva shakely opened her mouth allowing him to pour the greenish liquid down her throat. It tasted like an odd mixture of dirt and mint, but in only a few seconds she began to feel its effects. She meowed wanting to thank her colleague, who had stand up to return the vial to its place.

"You're welcome," he answered as if he had understood her, "now," he said standing in the middle of the room, "let's find you a place to sleep and we'll see how we solve your little problem on the morning," he suggested, and as he looked around, Minerva stood up - with her strength regained -, and with a couple clumsy jumps, she placed herself on the bed's sheets.

"That's my bed," Severus said with a very deep and upset tone, but Minerva didn't move an inch, she had spent the previous night in a drawer and wasn't about to spend this one anywhere else than a comfortable bed. "Move," he ordered her standing closer, but Minerva hissed at him and Severus let go some cursing word she didn't hear, "even as a cat you are insufferable!" he yelled and he turned around making his robes wave on the air, and disappeared behind what Minerva guessed was the bathroom door.

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Minerva woke up in a strange room. A very weak light came in by the only window of the dungeon, revealing a very organized and simple wooden desk, a crystal cabinet filled with books, potions and empty vials, a fireplace just like the one she had in the sitting room of her private quarters, and one only armchair facing it. At each side of the fireplace there was a door. If the floor map of that bedroom was just like hers, the right door took to a little bathroom and the left door should take to a bedroom; but she knew that wasn't the case, because Severus' bed was in what was supposed to be the sitting room.

After stretching her little muscles, Minerva came out of the bed sheets and jumped to the ground. She wondered where had Severus spent the night and it didn't take long for her to realize he was napping on the armchair, in a very odd and uncomfortable position, which made her feel a little guilty for having stolen his bed.

He hadn't even put on any pajamas. The only pieces of clothing he had got rid of to sleep had been his cloak and his shoes.

Very carefully, Minerva jumped gracefully on the arm of the chair and realized the potions master had also unbuttoned the top buttons of his black shirt, revealing a very virile chest that would have made Minerva blush if she hadn't been a cat at that moment.

She looked at the clock on the wall, it was past six on the morning and the man was still sleeping peacefully like if they had no business to attend. She was hungry and impatient to go back to her human form. Not only wanted she to feel her arms and legs back, but to hold her wand again and heck the damn old toad for once.

Without thinking it twice, Minerva jumped on the sleeping professors' lap.

Severus woke up suddenly and stood up from the armchair aiming his wand to the thin air.

"Do you think," he talked after calming himself down when he saw Minerva looking at him from mantelpiece of the fireplace, "this is a nice way to wake somebody up?"

Not able to say any words, Minerva tried to answer him with a smile - if those do show up on cat's faces -, and Severus replied with a scary morning glower as he buttoned his shirt up.

"It's not even seven o'clock," he said, and Minerva just stared at him, "Alright, alright. I'll go take a some books from the library to start with," he sat back to put his shoes on, and Minerva jumped down the fireplace with the intention of going with him.

"Don't even think of it," he said looking at her, "Umbridge must be looking for you everywhere knowing that you are still a cat, if she finds you, she'll make sure you don't escape again." As much as it was beginning to bother her the fact that Severus seemed to know what she was thinking all the time, he was right, it wouldn't be clever of her to let Umbridge catch her again, "which reminds me," he said bending over to her and grabbing the pet collar with both his hands, "that we should get rid of this," Minerva heard a click and afterwards she was finally free of that thing.

* * *

It was so ridiculously early in the morning that even the paintings in the walls were still sleeping while Severus went up the halls of the Castle to the empty and silent library. Not sure of what he was looking for, he picked a couple book about animagi, _The Great Encyclopedia of Spells_, and a few more books about counterspells and reversing potions.

Back in his private quarters, he found Minerva coming out from the bathroom and jumping on his desk very elegantly as he left the pile of books on the bed. He picked one randomly - _The magnificent art of animagi_ -, and just as he was about to lift it, Minerva jumped on top of the volume.

"What's the matter now?" he asked. Obviously, the animal couldn't reply with words, but Severus did get his answer when the tabby cat used his paw to open the book by the cover and showing him the essay's author: Minerva McGonagall, "You wrote this?" he said and the cat nodded, "and you are sure what we are looking for is not here?" he questioned and Minerva nodded again, "do we even know what we are looking for?" he asked putting the book aside, "I mean, do you know what spell or potion Umbridge used on you?"

This time Minerva didn't nod, she stayed still, like thinking, maybe trying to remember. After a long while, she moved towards the books and seemed to be reading the titles. She tapped _The Great Encyclopedia of Spells_ with the tip of her little black nose and Severus took it from the pile and rested it opened on the sheets.

Minerva peeped the page that started with the "Locomotor Mortis" and finished with the "Lumos" spell, and tried to turn it around with its paw, but it wasn't as easy to turn a slim page than it had been to turn the cover of the other book, so Severus did it for her after sitting down on the bed next to her.

The next page had a large M at the top and Minerva used the tip of her furry tail to brush it like if trying to turn it, which Severus understood perfectly.

"Shall we jump to the next letter to go faster?" he asked, and he got his answer on Minerva's eyes, "does the spell begin with N?" Minerva shook her little head, "O?" he tried, and the tabby cat nodded with enthusiasm, "Let's go, then," Severus took the book on his arms so it would be easier for him to manage it, and when he put it back in front of the professor, a large letter O was on the top.

This time Minerva scanned more carefully the page, which ended at "Obliviate", and she made Severus turn it around too. Suddenly, she meowed, and Severus looked at the book.

"You found it?" he asked, and Minerva put her paw in the middle of the page, right under the words: "obsidio incantatio," Severus read, "are you sure that is the spell Umbridge used?" he wondered, and she replied with another meow.

The potions master took the book on his hands and read the next lines out-loud:

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**Obsidio incantatio** _ob-SI-dee-oh in-kan-TA-tio (in latin, blocking spell)_ It blocks, freezes, the actions of the previous spell used, making its live longer._ i.e._ used on an object that is being levitated by the _wingardium leviosa_ spell, it will make the object stay on the air without the need of keep casting the first spell. **Counterspell:** see _expedio incantatio._

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After reading them he left the book opened on his lap and grabbed his wand aiming at Minerva with it. She stared at him staying very still.

"_Expedio incantatio_," he solemnly said, but nothing happened, "are you sure that was the spell?" he asked, and Minerva looked at the book, "Alright," Severus said taking the Encyclopedia again and looking for the counterspell. This time he just read out-loud the important part: "_...the obsidio incantatio must be performed with the same wand that blocked the spell you wish to free_," he looked at Minerva with his eyebrows knitted, "how are we supposed to get Umbridge's wand?"

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TO BE CONTINUED...


End file.
